Underspend of €95m by Department of Agriculture

It has emerged that the Department of Agriculture spent €95m less this year by the end of October than initially projected.

In reply to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil spokesperson on agriculture, Éamon Ó Cuív, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney gave a breakdown of the underspend by his Department, valid as of the end of October 2015.

The area with the greatest underspend was rural economy, environment and structural change, where the goal is to promote environmentally sustainable farming while supporting the rural economy. There was underspend of almost €57m in this area.

The next-largest underspend related to agri-food policy, development and trade, which underspent by over €13.5m.

The amount spent on schemes and services was down almost €11m on initial projection estimates, and food safety, animal health and welfare and plant health was down by €11.5m.

Altogether these underspends account for €93m of the €95m not spent by Coveney’s Department by the end of last month.

Coveney said estimates for spending by his Department are difficult to forecast and “may vary significantly throughout the year for a variety of reasons.” He added that he expects the difference between projections and spending to be “substantially closed” by the end of 2015.

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